Boycott of MasterCard

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SamDodgers | Email this user

Boycott Title

MasterCard's War on Cash: backfire

Boycott Description

According to both the MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga and MasterCard Canada president Brian Lang, MasterCard officially wages a "War on Cash", intending to "obliterate" paper money.

Thus, MasterCard intends to force people into having no other option than cashless, electronic transactions - without any possibility to avoid their negatives.

Since such a forcibly-cashless future would have severe impacts on security, liberty and well-being of people (described further), a boycott is being issued to:

1. request credit and debit cards from issuers other than MasterCard
2. inform banks about boycotting MasterCard due to their efforts
3. raise public awarness of MasterCard's anti-choice campagin and the negative aspects of the forcibly-cashless world MasterCard intends to create

 

Negative impacts of cashless society:

• dependency on middlemen: whether you are able to pay someone or recieve money wouldn't be up to you: it would require a Middleman (Bank, Application provider, Card company...) Each payment you'd like to make would be completely dependent on the consent (and profit) of such middlemen.
• inability to pay in case of mishap: should a bureocratic error (eg. case of mistaken identity or a typo in account Nr.) result in blocking of your bank account, you would be left with absolutely no backup. All your accounts would be electronically blocked, and you would have no alternative to pay even for a loaf of bread.
• inability to pay in case of emergencies: electronic transactions are dependent on network connectivity. Should some event take down comms or electricity in your area, you would be unable to pay for supplies or transport until the comms are brought back on-line and card terminals and spartphones re-connect.
• no-opt-out corporate invasion of privacy: since anonymity of transactions would begone alongside with cash, not only your shopping habbits, but your whole life would be completely transparent to corporations. All of it, not just those aspects you're okay with. Hence, it would be easier for corporations to target you with ads and manipulate you.
• much higher impact of identity theft: currently, if someone steals your online identity, you're at least left with the cash you have on you and in you house and could buy a ticket to file a report on the police station and maybe get a lawyer. In cashless society, enjoy your long walk.
• banks stealing your savings: the World Bank has encouraged governments and banks to introduce "negative interest", i.e. punishing you for having savings by cutting a share of your money every day to force you to spend recklessly. They cannot do it now, because you'd withdraw the savings to cash which, while in your pocket, cannot be subjected to "negative interest" cuts. But in a cashless world, there would be no evasion to "negative interest" cuts.
• governments nationalizing your savings: during the 2013 Cyprus financial crissis, the government announced a plan to confiscate ("one-time additional tax") up to 40% of each citizen's bank deposits. Facing popular outcry, they decided to only confiscate portiof of savings over certain threshold. However, in a cashless world, there would be no evasion, no escaping, and next time some "too big to fail" needs a bail-out, your savings could be "parionally nationalized" to help someone else.
• vastly increased capabilities of Dictatorships: part of MasterCard's effort is to make every transaction traceable. That means that in countries with oppresive governments, it would be wholy impossible for disidents to travel unnoticed or for anyone to buy opposition literature, pay for leaflets critical of the government or Samizdat books etc.

As the other apostles of the cashless society, MasterCard's Ajay Banga and Peter Lang portrait paper money as root of all the evil in the world.

However, the same anonymity which supposedly* allows criminals to pay for contraband also allows dissidents and political oposition to peacefully stand against human rights violations and travel to demonstrations.

As demonstrated by hackers, criminals and scientists alike, it really isn't any harder to steal money from your bank account or even and RFID-enabled credit card itself than from your wallet.

And most importantly, it is deeply disturbing that in our increasingly unstable world, major corporate players try to take away your control over something as fundamental as your own money.

Say "NO" to MasterCard trying to steal away our control over our own money!

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*criminals don't really need money: they could barter contraband for any other valuables, including other contraband, gold, diamonds, ferrous metals, pre-paid services etc.

Boycott Demands

• Cease the "war on cash" in both words and actions
• Openly admit that although cash may have it's negatives, cashless transactions should never be the only allowed alternative
• Publicly pledge that MasterCard would not support any effort to illegalize cash payments or cash itself
• Stop attacking and thrash-talking cash payments. Stop implying that cash equals crime.